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As far as agriculture (and much of the rest of
the country) is concerned, one of the most memorable lines of
President Bush’s 2006 State of the Union address was “America is
addicted to oil.” That, in addition to concerns over the Middle
East and its politically unstable oilfields; growing interest in
gas/electric hybrid and E85 vehicles; and even the possibility
of running cars off restaurant grease, have generated a lot of
buzz about renewable fuels and other bio-based products.
In his State of the Union
address, the President indicated his intent “to fund additional
research in cutting-edge methods of producing ethanol, not just
from corn, but from wood chips and stalks, or switch grass. Our
goal is to make this new kind of ethanol practical and
competitive within six years.”
Think about what the
President said in Washington, and then switch gears a moment to
what will soon be happening in Chicago, the annual meeting of
the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), April 9-12, whose
theme is “From Food to Fuel to Fashion: Industrial Biotech Does
it All.”
Here is just a partial list
of what will be discussed at BIO 2006, at none other than
Chicago’s McCormick Place, one of this country’s leading venues
for introducing new products to all types of markets: food made
with the help of enzymes manufactured through industrial biotech
(yogurts, breads, juices); everyday utensils made from
bioplastics; clothing (even designer dresses), bedding,
packaging materials and baby products made from polylactic acid
(PLA), a compostable biopolymer made from corn sugar; and food
additives and vitamins made from industrial biotech.
When forces as strong as a U.S. president and a
marketplace the magnitude of McCormick Place talk seriously
about the growing importance of non-food agriculture and
“renewability”, it is time to sit up and take notice. And more
of the consuming public is. Just ask anyone what “Bio Willie”
is.
No other time in history is
the opportunity so ripe to breed, develop, grow, promote, sell
and (hopefully) profit from crops produced for such a diversity
of markets. Seed has always been the first step in the
production of animal feed and conventional food ingredients. It
will continue to be the first step in the production of
renewable energy, biodegradable plastics, plant made
pharmaceuticals, biopolymers and countless more non-food
agricultural products.
The seed industry is at once
very mature and cutting edge. If this is not enough to attract
and excite new talent (including breeders and marketers) as well
as customers, I don’t know what is.
As Dean Oestreich, president,
Pioneer Hi-Bred International,
wrote in the SeedQuest Forum just
a couple of months ago, “We are only limited by our
imagination—and we are beginning to break those limits.” Perhaps
agriculture, and especially the seed industry, needs to voice
the endless possibilities more and more to the public and to our
customers. Maybe it needs to solicit more ideas.
Francois Korn, publisher of
SeedQuest, believes that “within 20 years, most large seed
groups will devote some 25 percent of their research
efforts to breeding for non-food agriculture.” I would agree,
adding that innovative farmers will be devoting at least part of
their acreage to develop products for increasingly diverse end
users. These farmers and their suppliers should be appropriately
rewarded for their efforts, particularly those who help take the
edge off America’s addiction to oil.
While not necessarily
considered a reward for products already produced, USDA is
putting money where the administration’s mouth is by having
recently announced that it is offering $188 million in loan
guarantees and grants for renewable energy and energy efficiency
projects by agricultural producers and small businesses.
This announcement came at the
same time that Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman announced $160
million in cost-shared funding over three years to construct up
to three biorefineries.
Even more recently,
Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns announced the issuance of a
final rule designating six bio-based items to receive special
consideration by all federal agencies under the Federal Biobased
Products Preferred Procurement Program.
As with the USDA loan
guarantees and grants, the designation of these bio-based
products should offer new economic opportunities for
agriculture. Hopefully, this can also eventually give farmers
and their suppliers some true market-driven business, and fodder
for new business strategies.
The current group of six
bio-based items include mobile equipment hydraulic fluids;
biobased roof coatings; water tank coatings; diesel fuel
additives; penetrating lubricants and; bedding, bed linens and
towels.
What’s more, USDA has identified
another 150 items. It is collecting test data needed for the
additional designations of items that will extend preferred
procurement status to include all qualifying bio-based products.
Manufacturers of qualifying products are invited to post product
and contact information on the following Web site:
www.biobased.oce.usda.gov.
What are these other 150
items and can the seed industry top this? The time is ripe.
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